Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

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Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL870 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Vally Lasker 19301013 [13th October 1930]
VWL1393 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Harry Farjeon 19400412 April 12 [1940]
VWL1433 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Granville Bantock 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL1901 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Adrian Boult 19440305 [About 5th March 1944]
VWL2117 Letter from Adeline Vaughan Williams to Cordelia Curle 19501103 Friday [3rd November 1950]
VWL2118 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Anthony Scott 19501108 8th November, 1950
VWL3364 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560818 August 18th 1956.
VWL3367 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19560827 August 27th 1956.
VWL3449 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Alan Frank (OUP) 19561125 November 25th 1956.
VWL3517 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570516 [about 16 May 1957]
VWL3525 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570202 July 2nd 1957
VWL3527 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570709 [9th July 1957]
VWL3528 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Margery Cullen 19570714 July 14th 1957
VWL3529 Letter from Ursula Vaughan Williams to Michael and Eslyn Kennedy 19570718 [18th July 1957]
VWL3758 Letter from Alan Bush to Ralph Vaughan Williams 19471205 December 5th, 1947.
VWL3922 Letter from Ilse to Alan Bush 19370131 31/1/37.
VWL4224 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Ernest Newman 19400828 August 28 [1940]
VWL4816 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Maud Karpeles 193010-- [October 1930]

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival